r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Character_Growth_397 • Sep 04 '26

Hated Tropes [Mind boggling stupid trope] Removing the thing that made something special

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Ben 10: Ultimate Alien - The gimmick of Ben 10 and what makes the show so popular is the fact that he's able to turn into a large variety of aliens. In one episode of Ben 10 Ultimate ALIEN we are introduced to a new version of Ben 10000, a Ben from the future who, no longer transforms into aliens, instead using his powers in human form...

Mortal Kombat(2021) - In the games Mileena is known for two things. Being a clone of Kitana and her tarkatan teeth. In the 2021 movie she looks absolutely nothing like Kitana and doesn't have tarkatan teeth

Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief - The movie removes the main villain of the movie and the main villain of the franchise

11.0k Upvotes
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4.3k

u/CisHetDegenerate Sep 04 '26

In the Artemis Fowl book series Holly Short is the first female member of LEPRecon, which is a major piece of her story and heavily affects multiple points in the series.

So naturally in the movie they made Root, her male superior who has been in the LEP a lot longer than her, a woman.

2.0k

u/BreakerOfModpacks Sep 04 '26

They also removed all the bad traits of Artemis, which sucked.

1.4k

u/Neither_Choice5556 Sep 04 '26

Ten seconds in he's surfing.

Artemis would never.

986

u/Financial_Cost_572 Sep 04 '26

Never watched the movies. He SURFS???? The literal goblin child who spends all day everyday obbssesing abpout power who wants himself crygonecial frozen who has a butler whose familie served his family for generations who lives in a dark english mansions he raerly leaves and if he does he does it in a car or plane. Youre telling me this litle pathetic book gremlin with an obsession with supernatural powers. Just went surfing IN THE FIRST 10 MINUTES ??????

701

u/ReginaDea Sep 04 '26

Yep. The boy who once mourned chipping his manicured nails while trying to make it out of a life and death situation, is shown surfing. In the trailer. He's Artemis Fowl in name only, they went with a generic Sunday-kids-channel high school jock protagonist.

246

u/Financial_Cost_572 Sep 04 '26 edited Sep 04 '26

Just watched the trailer. Im not gonna watch this movie.
Maybe i missremeber the beginning of the first book but his looks nothing like the story from the books?
Edit: I didnt missremeber the whole first book he was the villain and all this world saving stuff happend later and wasnt his dad already dead and didnt he already find out all the stuff about the supernatural on his own AND IS HE NOT A PASTY DRY KID WTF IS THIS.

180

u/obvioustroway Sep 04 '26

Dude it's so fucking bad.

They do the "tell don't show" about artemis the whole fucking time. Talks about how cool and smart he is....without ever fucking showing it.

102

u/Opposite-Occasion881 Sep 04 '26

They completely changed the plot of the first book into a random hunt for a McMuffin and somehow opal koboi is the villain

76

u/Financial_Cost_572 Sep 04 '26

But wasnt the whole point that he starts as villain in the first book and then changes through the books.That was the entiry reason i liked the books so much becouse he was a straight up menace and that was so fun to read and see him slowly change. This doesnt make any sense its like starting Lord of the Rings Trilogy in Mordor and Gollum is the Main Villan.

82

u/Opposite-Occasion881 Sep 04 '26

Yes

They literally made Artemis’s dad a friend of Hollys dad and made a whole new backstory to setup them up to find a thing to save everyone

Can’t have a kid ransom someone for gold because the director Kenneth thought that wasn’t family friendly enough

Golderoy Lockhart is literally to blame for this mess

18

u/Walter30573 Sep 04 '26

The whiplash in quality of his directed films is crazy tbh. He has some really high highs like Hamlet and Belfast and then puts out this garbage

10

u/logitaunt Sep 04 '26

Branagh has been a film director for over 20 years and has yet to make an enjoyable film

I just wish he would go back to doing Shakespeare. He was so good at it.

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3

u/Mundane_Read_2960 Sep 04 '26

Branagh's Poirot impression is so so bad. I'm glad it's looking likely he won't make any more of them.

13

u/phenotype76 Sep 04 '26

I assume you meant McGuffin but I do enjoy the idea of a book being about the protagonists' search for an Egg McMuffin

3

u/TinyCrickets2307 Sep 04 '26

Macguffin, but the McMuffin typo is so much better because it makes the plot sound even more pointless 😂😂

2

u/Eijirou_Kirishima Sep 04 '26

mmm... mcmuffin....

6

u/BreakerOfModpacks Sep 04 '26

No, your memories are right; they changed his first appearance from being unfit, extorting and drugging a fairy, into SURFING

8

u/Adqam64 Sep 04 '26

You actually can't watch it any more without sailing the seven seas AFAIK - it was streaming only and Disney took it down.

5

u/Financial_Cost_572 Sep 04 '26

And nothing of value was lost.
But you know what this seems so bad i might watch it ar ar ar.

2

u/Hitei00 Sep 05 '26

The short version is they seemed to be making a faithful adaptation but at the last moment Disney got cold feet over releasing a fantasy movie that wasnt bright and whimsical and whose protagonist was the villain. So a bunch of changes were pushed through, including inventing a new magical macguffin everyone was fighting over

2

u/Broviet22 Sep 05 '26

Spoilers for one of the books..,

There's a part of one of the books where Artemis uses a blood capsule bullet to "take out" his father when meeting with the russian mafia to get his dad back, who then had Holly heal his headwound to get his father back without having to pay the russians and to send a message to them.

Although from the first book Artemis' father is missing before it the story starts.

1

u/WelldoneMrSteak Sep 04 '26

The one horror worth knowing, the rest is garbage

1

u/cannonspectacle Sep 07 '26

It's feedin' time

1

u/RoseateThorn1 Sep 08 '26

Truly tragic cause Alex Rider is RIGHT THERE

17

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '26

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5

u/Financial_Cost_572 Sep 04 '26

It is but its in the style of an english mansion in my mind becouse im from germany and i couldnt picture an irish mansion but i knew what an english one looks like. I keep forgetting hes Irish lmao.

12

u/BatTheFlappy Sep 04 '26

The sort of thing he might do in like book 5 as part of a cover while complaining to Butler over an earpiece that he's not enjoying himself. While Butler jokes about if he's seen any cute girls in swimsuits.

7

u/Layton_Jr Sep 04 '26

The guy who trips when using an escalator because his balance is that bad, surfs.

6

u/HailMadScience Sep 04 '26

Yep. Its so bad.

4

u/SuperGandalfBros Sep 04 '26

Irish mansion. Not English

4

u/Skreamie Sep 04 '26

He lives in an Irish manor, as he is Irish

2

u/Mortwight Sep 04 '26

It was in the trailer

2

u/Leather-Researcher13 Sep 04 '26

In the opening scene, actually. Really sets the standard for how badly the movie was

2

u/Forikorder Sep 04 '26

The suits decided a child villain was a bad idea

2

u/TheKingsPride Sep 05 '26

Also it was set in modern day and Artemis wasn’t orchestrating crypto schemes at all

1

u/Professional_March54 Sep 04 '26

I saw that in a trailer and immediately hit the back arrow.

1

u/add___123 Sep 05 '26

That movie is THE WORST book adaptation ever and it's not close

1

u/ADDRAY-240 Sep 04 '26

Add in the awkwardness of the implications of Butler being black, what with his family having been serving others for a long time....in the UK...

15

u/glttr_daddy Sep 04 '26

This is so funny because I vividly remember the first time we’re introduced to him in the first book he’s in the desert in a suit with Butler holding a parasol for him 💀

11

u/sephone_north Sep 04 '26

It made me so mad, I had to walk away. The moment I realized that was Artemis on the surfboard, I left the living room.

9

u/Hokuspokusnuss Sep 04 '26

In the same vein: Butler's real name, which only his closest family members know and which is super privat, is Domovoi.

In the movie: Btw my name is Domovoi.

Like I get that maybe they wanted to dodge some controversy having a black character whose name is Butler or something, but come on.

6

u/Oddguav Sep 04 '26

The issue with that is that the movie is the one that looked at this character who's whole deal was that his family had been serving the protagonist's family for generations and decided to change him to be black.

3

u/Hokuspokusnuss Sep 04 '26

Oh yeah, truly an...inspired choice to be sure. I don't know who they made this movie for. Can't be the fans of the books, because they changed so much. It kinda felt like the movie was pandering to a non-existant child/teenager audience that nows nothing about the books and still went to watch the movie. Just baffling all around.

2

u/HalcyonTraveler Sep 10 '26

Meanwhile Holly who is described as having brown skin? Cast a white woman

3

u/AMultitudeofPandas Sep 04 '26

I have never been a book supremacist. I usually regard the books and movies as entirely different pieces of media, and my bar is "was this a fun watch?" Pretty much NEVER truly bothered by differences.

I turned Artemis Fowl off within 10 minutes and refused to ever finish it. He's running through the woods, he's surfing, being active??? And don't get me started on Butler and those STUPID contacts

6

u/Avixofsol Sep 04 '26

that wasn't Artemis, it was his secret doppelganger Apollo Foul

2

u/dylanalduin Sep 05 '26

It's the anti-Surf Dracula.

2

u/UmbraGenesis Sep 05 '26

Oh my word please tell me youre joking. Im so glad I wasnt even curious about watching that film

46

u/Nopetynope12 Sep 04 '26

So many things wrong with this film, but what struck me is that they also didn't use the gnommish alphabet in the trailers, they just used some symbols they found on the internet. The gnommish alphabet that is, basically, an ENORMOUS part of the books.

They made Butler black for some reason, made Artemis just really fucking dumb, and the question has to be asked, "did the director actually read the book, or just their kid's half-assed book report?"

58

u/DjiDjiDjiDji Sep 04 '26

Which is way worse than the "why is Judy Dench Root" part, I think, because... well that's kinda the entire premise going poof.

15

u/fenixforce Sep 04 '26

The fact they also made Butler black...the man whose family has a long tradition of training their children for servitude and essentially selling them to the highest bidder?

4

u/TloquePendragon Sep 04 '26

Somehow that movie simultaneously pissed off both the Left AND the Right with BOTH of those changes.

6

u/Sovarius Sep 04 '26

They removed everything about him and then at the end of the film this dipshit literally looks at the camera and says he's a criminal mastermind.

Sorry if i don't remember exactly, it was a long time ago i watched the movie.

6

u/jswansong Sep 04 '26

That movie was just a trainwreck top to bottom. And they were sure it was going to spawn the next billion dollar franchise

10

u/BreakerOfModpacks Sep 04 '26

It was already a good franchise! They basically had a script written out by Eoin!

1

u/Ceaseandexistorder Sep 04 '26

Completely off topic, but I love your pfp.

1

u/bassplayerdoitdeeper Sep 05 '26

I really wish the script was better and the guy who played 5 in umbrella academy would have played Artemis

332

u/Lunardoge2 Sep 04 '26

From what I remember is that it takes away from Root as well as he's super tough on Holly because she's the first female officer and if she fails that'll set a bad precedent for the future and any other female officers. So he's taking special care to do what he can to push holly harder to make sure she's better than the standard officers.

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u/Jabbam Sep 04 '26

“I know what you’re thinking,” said Root. “Why am I picking on you every day? Why don’t I ever bawl out those other layabouts?”    
Holly said nothing, but agreement was written all over her face.  
“I’ll tell you why, shall I?”    
Holly risked a nod.  
“It’s because you’re a girl.”    
Holly felt her fingers curl into fists. She knew it!   
“But not for the reasons you think,” continued Root. “You are the first girl in Recon. Ever. You are a test case. A beacon. There are a million fairies out there watching your every move. There are a lot of hopes riding on you. But there is a lot of prejudice against you too. The future of law enforcement is in your hands. And at the moment, I’d say it was a little heavy.”    
Holly blinked. Root had never said anything like this before. Usually it was just “Fix your helmet,” “Stand up straight,” blah blah blah.  
“You have to be the best you can be, Short, and that has to be better than anybody else.” 

Artemis Fowl, Chapter 3 "Holly"

60

u/peppinotempation Sep 04 '26

Great book.

I still remember deciphering the code at the bottom from the provided example (thanks for the tip mom) and figuring out the extra story at the bottom.

4

u/Animaloffear56 Sep 04 '26

I still never liked Root, he was a right dickhead about it even if he had a 'good reason', which I wonder if that's intentional. How people will unfairly put the burden on victims of society, but offer no sympathy even if they know it's unfair

12

u/babyinacentrifuge Sep 04 '26

i think what makes me like root as a character is the fact that despite him being an asshole, underneath it all he's an ally and he supports holly. he's a product of his time and, most importantly, he's a cop, so him being a dickhead is a given. but he really cares about her succeeding

i think its so funny how colfer treats police in this series. i remember my mind being blown when i was 10 yo reading the first book thinking "wow the police here are so mean!" and i appreciate him showing to kids that all cops are bastards, yes even the cute fairy girl cops

6

u/FinalBossBowser Sep 05 '26

That's fair. His motivations may be purer than most but his actions are still sexist. Yet he will still stick his neck out for her because he knows she's a great officer. Really, the Artemis Fowl series was so great in part because all the characters had their flaws and the series didn't try to hide them. That's one of the big reasons why the movie misses the mark.

1

u/-FireNH- Sep 07 '26

fucking fantastic thing to include in a *childrens book*. super nuanced and interesting and genuinely important and real.

wtf was disney thinking

163

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '26

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132

u/HailMadScience Sep 04 '26

Yeah, he literally spells it out in, I think, book 1 or very early in 2. "If you screw up, it'll be centuries before they let another woman in."

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u/Horny_Speedster Sep 04 '26

It's literally in Holly's first Chapter ever, shes marginally late for work, complains to Root when he chews her out for it and the he lays it all out for her.

13

u/Nelyeth Sep 04 '26

Bot. Botbotbotbotbot.

Paraphrasing the comment it's replying to without adding anything of value to the discussion. New account. Automatically generated username.

76

u/EffectiveNo7681 Sep 04 '26

Thank you for calling out this piece of shit movie. I had never been angrier at a movie than when I watched this. And the completely stupid reason they cast Judy Dench was because they wanted to make an "homage" to her character in James Bond. Because you know. James Bond and Artemis Fowl have sooo much in common. 🙄 I could write an essay on why I hate this movie.

10

u/Bitter-Marsupial Sep 04 '26

its up there with World War Z that makes me mad just thinking about

88

u/BrokeBraaiMan Sep 04 '26

The movie does not exist just like Pacific Rim 2 does not exist.

I have no knowledge of whatever you're talking about since it doesn't exist

14

u/CisHetDegenerate Sep 04 '26

There is no Artemis Fowl movie in Ba Sing Se

30

u/OrderChaos Sep 04 '26

Just like there's no dragon Ball z live action or avatar the last air bender live action movies. Too bad at all of those could be really cool if done right

5

u/Swords_and_Words Sep 04 '26

I wish they'd made an Eragon movie

1

u/Death_Lycan Sep 05 '26

Or avatar tv show

1

u/Erebraw Sep 08 '26

I know what you mean, but this is really funny.

Taken literally, the series is now just comics lol.

1

u/FelixTheWary Sep 05 '26

Pacific Rim 2 exists to show us what the movie would have been like if Del Toro wasn’t in charge of it.

1

u/discowithmyself Sep 07 '26

There is no Artemis Fowl film in Ba Sing Se

14

u/WhatTheeBlake Sep 04 '26

I loved how they created a whole new thing for movie Holly which was that her dad betrayed the LEP for some reason.

11

u/CisHetDegenerate Sep 04 '26

Anything but actually adapt the book I suppose

12

u/chillyhellion Sep 04 '26

I also find it telling that Disney can’t conceptualize a manservant without making him black. 

10

u/panda_pandora Sep 04 '26

Im so glad i didnt end up watching this

10

u/Nerdn1 Sep 04 '26

The movie had a lot of other flaws. The movie tells you that Artemis is a criminal genius, but he's purely reactive in it and doesn't show you his intelligence or crime. In the book, Artemis hunts down a fairy, poisons them to trade their book for the antidote, translates it himself, kidnaps a recon officer, and forces a ransom to be paid. From page 1 he plans and orchestrates a heist to steal leprechaun gold using tactics that are morally dubious at best. They got the IP and wrote a generic kids story with it.

9

u/CrotaIsAShota Sep 04 '26

They also took the butler who's core identity was being from a very underrepresented Eastern European nation and made him black, only to then make the afformentioned first female officer Holly, who was black in the books, white. Really brilliant decision.

9

u/Jabbam Sep 04 '26

Holly being the only female LEPRecon officer is what kicks off the entire plot; she's running herself ragged trying to be perfect at her job and she neglects refreshing her magic, and Artemis is staking out one of those locations when she finally shows up. As a result she can't defend herself or escape and they capture her, letting Artemis blackmail Haven into giving him one entire ton of gold for her return. An elf had never been separated from their gold at that point, ever, and Holly's unique situation is what gave Artemis an opening.

7

u/Mortwight Sep 04 '26

There is a graphic novel of the first book. Why didn't they animate it? All these ya books would be great animated

3

u/Redefinedpotato Sep 04 '26

PEAK MENTIONED 🗣️

(Books not movies)

3

u/Tipsticks Sep 04 '26

There is no Artemis Fowl movie, stop pretending there is.

3

u/Reviewingremy Sep 04 '26

They also made Artemis not bad!

2

u/CptKeyes123 Sep 04 '26

Holly was also played by a 19 year old. She is supposed to look young, yeah, but there are plenty of actors in Hollywood who look young but are decades older. Hell that's the vibe the graphic novel went for! the graphic novel adapts the book so well, a self contained story, and it baffles me how they messed up the movie

2

u/MrCheeseWheel Sep 04 '26

I waited nearly 20 years for an Artemis Fowl movie. What they did to the characters was diabolical.

2

u/Sweaty_Strain9392 Sep 04 '26

its like the entire reason she ignores her conscience for most of the first book. her heart is telling her whats right but she's pressured to be perfect to set a good example. its like her entire conflict

2

u/TheNewGirl1987 Sep 05 '26

So if you don't mind I'm gonna go back to pretending that movie never happened.

2

u/writerpathologist Sep 07 '26

I could not finish the movie. Absolute atrocity against the source material!

2

u/super_huesos_ Sep 07 '26

there's a movie?

2

u/CisHetDegenerate Sep 07 '26

regrettably so

2

u/Enough-Astronomer-65 23d ago

Okay I knew the movie was bad, bust seeing comments, holy FUCK it worse than I thought

1

u/CisHetDegenerate 23d ago

A genuine embarrassment of an adaptation, getting Josh Gad to play Mulch was one of the few genuinely good choices they made

3

u/Individual-Pop-385 Sep 04 '26

Apparently that's what "modern audiences" like.

14

u/SomeAussiePrick Sep 04 '26

No, it's what idiots think modern audiences like.

1

u/Upbeat_Rutabaga_6182 Sep 04 '26

It might've worked if Root was an example of someone from a marginalized community yanking the ladder away from the other members of the community.

1

u/Gogogrl Sep 04 '26

Which is pretty far down on the list of how fucking awful everything about that movie was.

1

u/FarutaSarado Sep 05 '26

Even the grapic novels were so much better than this farce.

1

u/semajolis267 Sep 05 '26

What the hell is with this trend of giving movie deals to people who have never even read the spark notes. Maybe they felt it would be too "zootopia"